Driving mechanism for vehicles.



E] G. HOPFMANN, DEG'D.

A. W. KIDDLE & A. M, 1330mm, EXBUUTORS.

DRIVING MECHANISM FOR VEHICLES.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 16, 1907.

Patented Oct. 21, 1913.

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E. G. HOPFMANN, DECD. A. WA-KIDDLE & A. M. BEGKER, summons. DRIVING MECHANISM FOR VEHICLES.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 16, 1907.

1,076,652. Patented 0013. 21, 1913.

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v E. G. HOFPMANN, DEUD. A. w KIDDLE & A. M. BECKER, EXEOUTORS. DRIVING MECHANISM FOR VEHICLES.

APPLIOATION FILED SEPT. 16, 1907.

1,076,652. Patented Oct. 21, 1913.

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DRIVING MEGHANISM FOR VEHICLES} Specification of iette'is Patent.

Patented ea. 21, 1913,

Application filed September 16, 1907. Serial No. 393,048.

To all whom it may concern Beit known that I, Ennsr GUSTAV Horn MANN, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city of- New Rochelle, in the county of- Westchester and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Driving Mechanism for ni-ng frame. As such, the invention may be embodied in non-dirigible' vehicles, as railroad cars, engines, etc, as well as in automobiles and other dirigible vehicles. With this arrangement,- it is obvious that the driving element or elements, whatever they may be,-are' not subjected to the shocks and vibrations which would be transmitted to such parts of the driving mechanism as are supportedfrom' the axle without spring sus pension, I

Heretofore, it has been proposed to support adifferential gear upon the body of a vehicle and to connect the gear with each driving wheel by means of ashort shaft, the ends'of which were connected by universal joints respectively to the gear and to another short shaft which was rigidly connected to the hub of the corresponding driving wheel andextended through a hollow axle end upon which this wheel was mounted". The chief objection to this construction is that thel'en'gth of the intermediate shaft with universal joints at the ends thereof must necessarily be quite limited and the oscillatory movementthereof correspondingly great, withthe result that the angular movement of the universal -joints is such as to impose excessive requirements uponthese joints and-ina measure to interfere with the proper transmission of power from the driving element to the driving wheels.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide for such a lengthening of the intermediate shaft in this construction-,- as shall reduce considerably the oscillatory movement of this shaft and the an 'lar movementof the universal joints, an for driving wheel or wheels.

this 'urpose provision is made for extending t 11s shaft either outwardly into the hub of the driving element or for extending it in both directions,- that is, into the wheel hub and into the body of the driving element at the same time. In all these cases,- the intermediate shaft is connected, as. before,

through universal joints to the driving element at its inner end and to the corresponding driving wheel at its outer end. Where it is extendedinto the driving wheel hub, the

short shaft, which was formerly journaled in the hollow axle end and rigidly connected to" the wheel hub,- is dispensed with, and connection is made with the wheel hub directly through the universal joint.- Where the intermediate shaft is extended at its inneiend, the driving element is provided with ah'ollow shaft with which a direct con nection is made to the intermediate shaft through the universal joint which is located inside the hollow shaft. in another application for LettersPatent of the United States,

.filed June 8, 1907 and Serial No. 377,851, the

construction in which the intermediate shaft is-exten'ded into the wheel hub is set forth and claimed. In the present case, however, the improvements not only have to do with the lengthening of the intermediate shaft between the' driving element and the corresponding driving wheel, but also include an improved driving system in which the driu ing element is an electric motor supported from above the springs, preferably upon the vehicle body, and directly connected with a- The object of this improved system of driving (and accordingly another object of the inlvention) is to eliminate all gearing from the drivingmechanism. By employing two motors, where there are two driving wheels, as in an automobile, it is possible, as is wellknown, to do away with differential gearing. has not been possible he'reto fore, however, to support two motors from thevehicle body and between the driving wheels and to operatively connect the mo ters with their respective driving wheels without the interposition of gears or other more or less complex mechanism, on account of the extremely limited space which is left between the motors and their respective driving wheels, By means of the present of the wheel itself, or inwardly into' the body improvements, the motors may be directly connected with their respective driving wheels through intermediate shafts provided with universal oints at each end, the shafts being extended into hollow armature shafts rovided in the motors or into the hubs of the riving wheels, or into both the armature shafts and wheel hubs as will be explained more fully hereinafter. By means of the present invention therefore, the advantages of supporting the driving element or elements upon the vehicle body are secured without interfering in any way with the proper transmission of power to the driving wheels, or with the relative movement of the driving wheels and vehicle body, and without the necessity of employing gears or gearing of any description.

Another object of the invention is to de vise means whereby the driving wheels may be permitted to have a swiveling movement, as for steering, without interfering with the transmission power and to provide in connection with such means a suitable braking device. This will all be explained hereinafter and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which the lmprovements are illustrated as they might be em bodied for instance in a motor road vehicle.

In said drawings, Figure 1 is a view partly in section and partly in elevation of so much of a motor vehicle as will enable the application of the invention to be understood. Fig. 2 is a similar view, upon a larger scale, in which the driving wheel is permitted to swivel. Fig. 3 is a detail view of the parts shown in Fig. 2, some of these parts being removed to show the manner of assembling, and Figs. 4. and 5 are detail sectional Views of a universal joint which may be employed.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in Fig. 1 of the drawings, the body of the vehicle, sulficiently represented at a, is shown as supported through the usual leaf springs Z) upon an axle 0. Each of the driving wheels 6 is journaled upon a hollow axle end (Z, suitable ball bearings f, the construction of whichis not necessary to be described in detail herein, being interposed between the exterior of the hollow axle ends d and the interior of the hub c of the wheel, the hub being preferably extended somewhat beyond the extremity of the axle end 423. The driving element, in the present case, is an electric motor g and two electric motors are provided, one for each driving wheel, in order to avoid the necessity of employing a differential gear. These motors are supported from above the springs and in the present case are shown as bolted to the body a and are therefore spring suspended with referenee to the axle 0 and wheels 2;. Interposed between each wheel and its corresponding driving element g is of the corresponding motor through a universal joint, indicated at 2', and at its outer end with the corresponding driving wheel through a universal joint indicated at It will thus be obvious that each of these shafts durin the transmission of power will have an oscillatory movement the degree of which will depend upon the relative nuwement of the motors and driving wheels and also upon the length of the shafts. It will also be noted that the shafts and the universal couplings serve as a 'yieldable connecting means between the motors and wheels thereby permitting a relative movement between the latter. It will also be obvious that with two motors installed between the driving wheels, as illustrated in Fig. 1, the space left for a connecting shaft between the motors and their respective driving wheels will be exceedingly limited and that unless some provision is made for extending this shaft beyond the limits of the space thus imposed, each shaft will have to be made so short that the oscillations which it describes during the running of the vehicle will be too large tobe practicable. For this reason, provision is made to extend each of these shafts into the corresponding motor or into the corresponding wheel hub or into both the corresponding motor and wheel hub. The particular conditions. in any given case will determine the proper length of each intermediate shaft 7t and will also determine whether or not it should be extended into the motor or into the wheel hub or into both. In the application for Letters Patent of the United States above referred to a suitable construction is set forth whereby the intermediate shaft may be lengthened by extending it into the wheel hub. In that case and in the present case, the axle end d is made hollow and'theshaft h is extended into the hollow axle end and preferably entirely through the same, bringing the universal joint 7c at the outer end of the wheel conveniently provided with lugs la -to have a driving engagement with no'tchese in the outer end of the wheel hub ,e. The outer ring of the joint 2' may have a similar engagement with the motor armature presently to be referred to. The driving engagement of the universal joint is with the outer end of the wheel hub may be main tained by a cap Z which covers the joint and holds the lugs 70 in the notches e having itself a threaded engagement with the exterior of the hub e. Provision must be 5 madefor the constant variation. in distance between the motor and wheel hub, due to the relative movement of the motor and wheel.

For this purpose a sliding joint of suitable character is conveniently formed somewhere in the intermediate shaft h and, as illustrated in Fig. 1, the shaft is shown squared as at h to enter a corresponding seat a" in what may be referred to as the hub i of the adjacent member of the universal joint 2', a

5 driving engagement being thus maintained withfreedom forlongitudinal slip.

Where the shaft h is extended inwardly, the corresponding motor armature is prefera-bly provided with a hollow armature shaft, indicated in the present case at g. In the particular construction illustrated in Fig. 1, the motor has a single casing g having an integral end plate 9 and a removable end plate 9* secured by bolts g. The

end plate has a short inward extension 9 which supports bearings g" for one end of the hollow armature shaft g, while the end plate g supports a bearing for the other end of the hollow armature shaft g. The

universal couplingi is located within the hollow armature shaft between the ends of the casing, the outer ring of the particular universal joint shown being rigidly connected with the armature shaft, as already stated. As illustrated in the drawing the location of the universal joint 11 within the hollow armature g is such as to extend the shaft 72. practically through the motor. It will be obvious however that the particular condition, as before stated, will determine whether the shaft It shall be extended through the motor or through the wheel hub or simply a short distance into either or both of these members.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3 the wheel is mounted to swivel upon the main axle c, and for this urpose the interior member of the Wheel .liub e is secured to the hollow axle end d by means of pivots e, a steering arm a being secured to the hub in case the steering is to be effected through the wheel. The outer ring 70' of the universal joint is spherical as illustrated and the chamber 03? of the hollow'axle'end d is correspondingly shaped 1 to permit the swiveling to take place with out interference between the universal joint 70 and the hollow axle (Z. In this embodiment oftheinvention the universal joint is is located more nearly in the center line of the wheel, and to permit the swiveling to take .place'properlythe lugs is are. provided upon an. extension formed upon the outer ringlc. A screw cap Z'is provided 65 as before upon the exterior of the hub to hold the universal joint 7: in position. At its inner .end the shaft k is extended only slightly into the motor and the motor shaft g is not hollow from end to end but only for a portion of its length and is solid and 0 of a reduced diameter for the rest of its length. The universal joint 21 rests within the hollow portion to which it is rigidly secured, as before. With a swiveling. wheel,

and an oscillating shaft, it will be obvious 5 that it will be impracticable to employ the ordinary braking devices such as those which comprise a drum secured tothe wheel or shaft and a band for the drum secured to the running frame and adapted to be drawn tightly around the drum. Accordingly, braking devices have been provided, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, upon the motor shafts g, the motors, for this purpose, be ing slightly separated and brake drums g 5 belng secured to the respective shafts be tween the motors. It will be noted that the brake mechanisms are applied only to the drums on the motor shafts.

It will be seen that the improved construction makes it possible to eliminate wholly all gearing, drive chains and the like from the driving mechanism and that this advantage is gained without in the least affecting the transmission of power to the driving wheels and without restricting the movement of the vehicle body and parts attached thereto with respect to the driving wheels. The number of the parts being so small and .the simplicity of the mechanism correspondingly great, a most direct and efficient driving mechanism is thereby provided.

Many departuresmf course, may be made from the embodiment of the invention illustrated and described, and, as was'said above,-

the invention may be applied to vehicles which run on tracks as well as to motor road vehicles.

It should be particularly observed thatllo while the term universal joint has beenused throughout the present description, in many vehicles such as railroad cars where the relative movement between the wheels and car trucks or vehicle body is relatively small and takes place almost wholly. in a vertical direction, a simpler form of flexible joint mav be used than one which is technicallyauniversal joint.

Iclaim as my invention 1. In a power driven vehicle the combination of'a driving wheel, a motor, a shaft connected to the armatureof the motor and also to the wheel by universal couplings, and a brake mechanism applied only to 125 the armature of the motor. T

2.' In a power driven vehicle the combination of a motor having an armature, a driving wheel, a yieldable connecting means between'the motor and wheel, anda brake 13a mechanism which acts directly and only upon a member rigidly connected to the armature.

3; In a power driven vehicle the combination of a motor havingan armature, a driving wheel, a shaft having a universal connection to the armature and also a universal connection to the driving wheel and a brake mechanism which acts directly and only upon a member rigidly connected to the armature.

4. In a power driven vehicle the combination of a motor having an armature, a driving wheel, a yieldable connecting means between the armature and the driving wheel and a brake mechanism adapted to cooperate with a member connected to the armature; said brake mechanism and said member both located within the casing of the motor. a

5. Ina power driven Vehicle, the combination of a driving wheel, a hollow axle upon which the wheel is swiveled, an electric motor supported to have relative movement with the axle, a shaft between the electric motor and driving wheel operatively connecting the motor and wheel, a

universal coupling at each end of the shaft, said shaft being extended into said motor in order to lengthen said shaft and reduce its oscillatory movement, and a brake mechanism which is applied only to a brake drum upon the armature of the motor.

6. In a power driven vehicle, the combination of two driving wheels, hollow axles upon which the wheels are swiveled respectively, two electric motors supported between the driving wheels to have relative movement of the axles, a shaft operatively connecting each motor and the corresponding driving wheel, a universal coupling at each end of each shaft, each shaft being extended into said driving element in order to lengthen said shaft and reduce its oscillatory movement, and brake mecha-- nisms which are applied only upon brake drums upon the inner end of the armature shafts of the motors.

,This specification signed and witicssed this 6th day of September, A. D., 1907.

ERNST GUSTAV HOFF MANN. a Signed in the presence of LUCIUS E. VARNEY, AMBROSE L. OSHEA. 

